State Representative Matt Shaheen announced on March 13, 2023 that he requested the Texas Education Agency (TEA) launch a formal investigation into three Frisco ISD school board members.
According to Shaheen’s office, Renee Archambault, Dynette Davis and Debbie Gillespie are the board members in question. A recent leaked audio recording shows the members holding “an illicit meeting” about delaying the placement of a transgender bathroom-related item in an effort to “silence conservative parents.” The recording was posted online by a conservative website that claimed the trustees met to ensure their “leftist agenda has an eternal hold on Frisco ISD’s children.”
According to the Dallas Morning News, Davis said the November meeting was held at a Frisco coffee shop and was not secretive, undisclosed or with a leftist group. Rather, the trustees met with a “concerned group of parents” who had questions after the district approved a bathroom policy for trans students.
But Shaheen claims the meeting was a violation of Frisco ISD’s own board operating procedures “in an effort to bypass serious concerns of their community regarding the safety and well-being of young girls on district property.”
“I have grave concerns about the Trustee’s conduct and the serious nature of this meeting,” Shaheen said. “The trustees' commentary in the recording demonstrates a complete lack of concern for parental concerns and seems to violate Frisco ISD’s Board Operating Procedures and Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Ethics for School Board Members.”
Shaheen continued, “I look forward to the TEA providing clarification on this important matter to ensure these Frisco ISD School Board Members are in compliance with applicable laws, rules, policies and governance procedures, and that parents have a voice in their children’s education."
Update 2:00 p.m.: additional details added
Texas laws consider it a crime to record an audio conversation in person or over the phone if the parties have a reasonable expectation of privacy. However, Texas is a one-party consent state, making the recording legal, according to the Texas State Law Library.
Local Profile reached out to FISD for comment but did not receive a response prior to publishing.
